Ireland confirmed their place in the EURO 2025 playoff final after beating beating Georgia 3-0 with a record breaking 8,745 in attendance at Tallaght Stadium.
Goals from Julie-Anne Russell and Kyra Carusa were enough for victory on the night in a tie that was well and truly over before a ball was kicked. Ireland made two changes from the side that won 6-0 in the first leg in Tibilisi, as Jessie Stapleton came in for Tyler Toland who is one booking away from suspension, while Marissa Sheva was introduced in place of Lily Agg.
For Georgia the record caps holder Nino Pasikashvili dropped out of the starting line up with Maiko Bebia also dropped to the bench, introduced in their place were Teona Bakradze and Nino Bukhrikidze.
The Lineups
IRL: Brosnan, Stapleton, Hayes, Patten, Mannion, McCabe, O’Sullivan, Sheva, Larkin, Russell, Carusa
GEO: Gabunia, Kadagishvilli, Chkhartishvili, Danelia, Bakradze, Khaburdzania, Cheminava, Narsia, Gasviani, Bukhrikidze, Kalandadze
The Action
Within moments, the tone was set. Katie McCabe jostled, with the whistle blown as Irina Khaburdzania fell to the ground.
Georgia tried to press Ireland high and start with intent. If they had hoped to keep the scores level until half time, that notion was soon put irreparably to bed. Within three minutes, Marrisa Sheva was played in behind. Her initial effort was well save by the keeper but the rebound was gathered up by Galway striker Julie-Anne Russell who fired home with confidence.
After taking the lead to make it 7-0 on aggregate, Ireland settled in to dominate proceedings with Denise O’Sullivan pulling the strings. Georgia were struggling with how high up the pitch Ireland set up and were frequently miss placing passes.
On the thirty minute mark, Caitlin Hayes picked up the ball on the halfway line and with her head up, she drilled the ball to the feet of Jessie Stapleton whose clever flick played through Carusa, who made no mistake firing the ball into the roof of the net.
Only minutes later, Ireland were awarded a penalty after Carusa proved too much for the Georgian rearguard to handle and was brought down in the box. McCabe stepped up, and despite the air of the inevitable swelling around the stadium, McCabe uncharacteristically lifted the ball over the cross bar from the spot and the score remained 2-0.
Ireland pressed for their third prior the half time whistle. Stapleton’s fierce effort was parried by Tatia Gabunia inbetween the posts for Georgia, before Russell fired wide on the follow up.
Carusa continued to torment the Georgian back line using her strength time and time again to cause issues for Georgia. Soon after a short corner routine found Katie McCabe free in the box with far too much space, this time she made no mistake blasting the ball low to the keeper’s left and into the back of the net.
An unchallenged Courtney Brosnan was forced into a save when Teona Bakradze took a speculative effort from outside the box. Ireland changed their shape midway through the half with Heather Payne and Izzy Atkinson introduced in place of Abbie Larkin and Kyra Carusa. An all new wing back pairing on either side saw Russell go up front as a lone striker before Leanne Kiernan was introduced in place of McCabe to partner Russell up top.
Ellen Molloy got five minutes off the bench in the closing stages, back in the squad for the first time since her ACL injury and move to Sheffield United. It was almost a fairy tale return for Molloy as her proving shot on the edge of the box landed on the roof of the net despite a sell out crowd willing it to find its way below the bar.
The game fizzled out in the dwindling stages with victory confirmed for the home side, who can now look ahead to the play off final.
The Halfway Line Player of the Match: Jessie Stapleton
While any number of names could have been picked with Denise O’Sullivan and Kyra Carusa influential in Ireland’s control over the match, Stapleton was the stand out. Asked to play two positions, she had no issues with either, in fact the Sunderland defender excelled in both.
